


Better Than Planned

by TwistedRocketPower



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Family, Family Fluff, Humor, Love, M/M, mentions of depression
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-03
Updated: 2018-02-03
Packaged: 2019-03-13 03:16:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13561584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TwistedRocketPower/pseuds/TwistedRocketPower
Summary: Dan and Kathryn take a walk and have a talk.





	Better Than Planned

Dan woke up, shivering slightly as he pulled the comforter up around his neck. He glanced at the clock, letting out a silent sigh when he saw it was just past eight.

He never woke up this early when it wasn’t necessary and, today, it wasn’t necessary. There was a noise coming from outside of the bedroom though, and it reminded Dan that they weren’t at the flat alone.

The Lester’s were here, and they always got up quite a bit earlier than Dan or Phil.

Dan looked back at Phil, who was still sound asleep. His hair was sticking straight up and his mouth was hanging halfway open; Dan knew he wouldn’t be waking up for a bit. It took more than a few noises to bring him out of his dream world. 

As much as he wished he could, Dan could already tell he wouldn’t be able to fall back asleep. He couldn’t bear the thought of the Lester’s having to wait a couple more hours before he or Phil made an entrance.

He forced himself out of bed, hurrying over to Phil’s discarded fox jumper and throwing it on. There was no need to be picky with clothing choices when he was practically naked and very cold.

He grabbed a pair of his black skinny jeans from the wardrobe and put them on, ran his fingers through his hair, then left the room.

After a quick trip to the toilet to pee and brush his teeth, he went out to see the Lester’s. He was surprised to see Kathryn at the door, putting on her coat.

“Good morning, Kath,” Dan greeted.

She jumped slightly, then turned around and smiled at him. “Good morning, Dear! Did I wake you?”

Dan shook his head. “No, no. I just woke up. Where are you headed?”

“I wanted to go to that little bakery down the road that you boys mentioned yesterday. I was going to get breakfast for all of us. What’s the place called? Lenny’s? Larry’s?”

“Loretta’s.”

“Yes, that’s the one.” Kathryn buttoned up her coat and grabbed a pair of gloves from one of the pockets. “Would you like to join me?” She asked, pulling the gloves up over her hands.

“Sure,” Dan replied. He walked over to the coat closet and got his coat out. “Is Nigel coming as well?”

“No, afraid not. He wanted to sit out on the balcony and have coffee this morning. Just you and me. You ready?”

Dan finished buttoning his last button and slipped on a pair of shoes. “Let’s go.”

 

“How are things with the tour coming along?” Kathryn asked as she and Dan headed down the sidewalk. It was nearly a twenty minute walk to Loretta’s, but they both decided they’d rather walk than be stuck in a stuffy cab.

“Everything’s been good so far, I think. We go to rehearsals twice a week, although it’s less of a rehearsal right now and more of a, ‘What the hell are we going to do?’”

“Phil’s told me it’s quite different from the last one.”

“Yeah it is,” Dan agreed. “I like it more, I think. The last one was very nostalgic, which was nice, but this one feels… I don’t know, more grown up, I guess? More relaxed.”

“We can’t wait to come see it,” Kathryn replied. “We want tickets to, _at least,_ two of the dates.”

Dan smiled. “I believe we can arrange that.”

“Excellent. And what about after the tour?”

Kathryn never was as subtle as she thought. 

“What do you mean?” Dan asked, as if he didn’t know exactly what she meant.

“I mean, have you made any life decisions for once the tour is over? Phil mentioned yesterday that this would be the last one.”

“Oh, you know how terrible we are at planning ahead.”

“When it comes to little things, yes,” she replied, gently nudging his arm with her own. “But I also remember you writing to thank me for the journal I got you. You said it was already filled with future goals and dreams and all sorts of things.”

Dan shook his head. She was always one step ahead of them. Always able to call out their bullshit in the most polite way.

Dan was grateful for that.

“Nothing’s set in stone,” he replied, “but we are planning on buying a flat somewhere in London once the tour is over.”

“That’s wonderful, Dear. Are you sure you two don’t want a house though?”

“I don’t think so. We both love the city, and Phil has penthouse dreams. I’m not sure we’ll actually be able to afford one of those, but we could get something close to it.”

“You must make sure it’s a pet friendly place,” Kathryn said. “I had a friend that moved in an apartment complex and she was told it was pet friendly, but it really wasn’t.”

“We’ll definitely make sure of that.”

“Now, is Phil truly so determined on getting a Corgi?” She asked. “Or is that a bit of a show?”

Dan laughed. “No, he’s really that obsessed with them. I’m not sure if that’s what we’ll end up getting, because we want to adopt from a shelter, but it’s the breed on the top of our list.”

“What about that one you love so much? From that meme thing that I saw before?”

“A Shiba Inu?” 

“Yes, that.”

“That’s on the list too, but I’m not as obsessed with that as Phil is a Corgi.”

“I just wonder where the obsession came from,” Kathryn said. “He never mentioned a Corgi growing up. He just wanted a dog. Any dog.”

“I’m sure it has something to do with his desire to feel like royalty.”

Kathryn nodded. “The boy always did have big dreams.”

 

They walked in silence for a couple of minutes, simply enjoying the cold morning. Dan knew it wouldn’t last long though. Soon enough, Kathryn would be asking something else.

Dan sort of looked forward to it. His parents didn’t pry all that much. They’d ask the basics:

_ How are you and Phil?  _

_ What have you been up to? _

_ Still enjoying the city? _

But they never asked for details; not like Kathryn did.

Sure enough, Kathryn did break the silence. “What about children?” 

“Oh dear.” Whatever Dan expected the next question to be, that was not it. “So, how’s life on the Isle of Man, Kath?” He asked, half joking. He knew a subject change wouldn’t work, but he did need a few seconds to think of a proper answer.

Kathryn laughed. “Now, Daniel, you can’t blame me for asking. You and Phil have mentioned kids a few times, and Martyn and Cornelia don’t want any, so I have to question my only set of children that  _ do  _ want some.”

Dan pushed back the feeling of comfort at being considered one of her kids. It wasn’t new information. He’d been one of her boys since he and Kathryn first met. 

Still, it made him feel all warm and soft.

“I didn’t realize we ever mentioned kids outloud,” he responded. 

“You do,” she informed him. “We’ll be in the middle of something and, out of nowhere, you two will say how you’ll have to show your kids this, or teach your kids that. Nigel and I have both noticed.”

Dan felt a little embarrassed. He had no idea that he and Phil could be so obvious sometimes. No idea that private conversations turned into off-hand discussions in front of other people.

“It’s in our five year plan,” he said. “Maybe seven. Definitely under ten though.”

“Do you plan on adopting?”

Dan shrugged. “We aren’t sure. I would love to adopt, but I’d also love a little Phil running around the house.”

_“Stumbling_ around the house is more like it.”

“That’s true,” Dan replied with a laugh. 

“What about a little Dan?”

Dan sighed. “I’m not sure. Phil says he’d like to mix, um,  _ it  _ together and then not know who was the biological father, even though we’d obviously know whose it was when it was born. I’d rather not be part of the equation.”

“Why’s that?”

"My uncle was bipolar, and I have depression. I feel like it would be setting the kid up for failure. Phil doesn’t have the messed up genes that I have. But, besides that, we also don’t know who we’d use as a surrogate? We don’t want to use someone we know, but it also seems weird for it to be someone we don’t know.” He shook his head. “I don’t know, we’ll probably end up adopting. It’s just a lot to think about.”

“Yes, sounds like it.”

They reached the bakery only to see that it hadn’t opened yet. 

“Oh, I forgot it opened later on Tuesdays and Wednesdays,” Dan said.

Kathryn looked down at her watch. “We’re only ten minutes early.” She looked around, spotting a bench nearby. “Let’s go sit while we wait.”

They walked over to the bench and sat down. Dan stuffed his hands into his coat pockets, trying to warm them up. 

Dan contemplated asking a question to Kathryn. It was something he had wondered for a long time; something he thought about asking his own mum a few times. There had never been a good moment to do it though… Or, maybe he was always afraid of the answer.

Either way, he decided now was as good of a moment as any.

“Kath?”

“Yes, Dear?”

“When Phil was young, is this… is this ever how you pictured his life?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean with someone like me.”

She tapped his arm with her elbow so he’d look over at her. “You mean did I ever picture him with another man?”

Dan nodded.

She took a moment to gather her thoughts before replying. “I admit, it isn’t.” She looked out to the city in front of her. “The world I was raised in was much smaller than the one I live in now. I suppose some of that was my fault, for not educating myself as I got older, but we didn’t have the internet and all the resources that are available today. It’s no excuse-”

“No, I understand,” Dan replied, and he meant it. The world had changed so much just from the time he was a teenager until now, he couldn’t imagine just how many changes Kathryn had seen. 

“If there is one piece of parenting advice I can give you, Daniel, it’s that every parent plans their child’s future, no matter how much you tell yourself you won’t do it. We all have moments of picturing who the child will become, what they’ll achieve, and who they’ll achieve it with. I think that’s normal. What you must do, though, is realize that is  _ your  _ plan, and life often does not go according to it.”

“What was your plan for Phil?” Dan asked curiously.

“Well, I did picture him with a lady. I pictured them having children together. I thought he’d move to Manchester and live there forever. I thought he’d have a regular job, maybe a veterinarian. He was always so obsessed with animals.”

Dan smiled slightly, although he felt a little sad at the thought of that version of Phil. A Phil who wouldn’t have to have late night conversations with his partner about how the hell they were going to have a kid. A Phil who wouldn’t have to deal with Dan’s depression because, in a dream world, everything was perfect all the time.

Kathryn pulled Dan out of his thoughts by reaching over and pulling his hand out of his coat pocket so she could hold it. “What I realized, as Philip got older,” she continued, patting Dan’s hand until he looked at her, “was that he always had a way of surprising us.  _ Good _ surprises. He was much better at planning his own future than Nigel and I were, and I couldn’t be happier that my plans didn’t work out.”

Dan couldn’t help the blush rising on his cheeks. It always happened when he felt special, and the Lester’s had a way of making him feel special pretty much all the time. “I’m kinda glad your plans didn’t work out either,” he admitted. 

Kathryn smiled. She gave Dan’s hand another pat before letting him go. “Nigel and I both love you to pieces, Dan. We couldn’t imagine someone better for Phil. We can see how happy Phil is with you, and that makes us happier than you’d ever know.”

Dan was definitely going to burst into tears if this conversation didn’t end soon. As much as he loved hearing all of these lovely things, crying on a bench, in London, right beside a bakery, was not something he really wanted to do.

Thankfully, someone came to the front of the bakery at that moment and unlocked the door, switching the closed sign over to open. 

“Oh good, they’re open,” Kathryn said, standing up. “Let’s get inside so we get the freshest pastries.”

 

Right as they exited the bakery, Kathryn reached into one of the bags and pulled out a pastry. She tore it in half, handing one of the halves to Dan. 

He gave her a questioning look.

“It’ll be our little secret,” she whispered, handing him a napkin as well.

He smiled. “Sounds good to me.”

They each took a bite of the raspberry pastry, then commented on how delicious it was.

Even such simple conversation was making Dan happy today. It was definitely going to be one of his better days; he could feel it deep in his bones.

“You know,” he started, taking another small bite, “Phil and I have talked about buying a little place on the Isle of Man.”

Kathryn’s face lit up. “Really?!”

“Mhm. Something small, so we could stay for longer periods of time. We could rent it out when we weren’t there.”

“That sounds absolutely wonderful,” she replied. “Though, you know you’re always welcome to stay at the house for as long as you wish.”

“We know. But if we came for a month or two, it would probably be best to have our own place. Plus, it’s a good investment.”

“Can’t argue with that. I hope this is somewhere within the three year plan,” she mentioned cheekily.

Dan laughed. “We’ll need to get a few more sponsors for the gaming channel,” he joked.

“Well, get to it then. I’ll start sending you real estate the moment I get home.”

 

They remained relatively quiet until they finished the pastry. As they got closer to home, Kathryn spoke up once again.

“So, how have you been doing lately, Daniel?” 

Dan knew exactly what she was asking about. “I’ve been good,” he replied. “Better than ever before, to be honest. Phil’s been helping me stay on schedule with things like exercising, eating regular meals, drinking more water, and having a slightly more normal sleeping routine. I still have bad days sometimes, but not nearly as often as I used to.”

“That’s wonderful,” Kathryn replied. “I’m so proud of you. I’ve watched your video many times, and I’ve even gone to that website, the YoungMinds one, and read up on some of their articles.”

“Really?” Dan was genuinely surprised. He had no idea Kathryn had gotten so involved.

“Yes, I wanted to learn as much as I could. It’s also wonderful to hear that Philip is helping you so much. I always tell him he better be treating you well.”

“Oh, he does,” Dan assured her. “He somehow manages to make every day fun, even if we’re not doing anything out of the ordinary. I was paying bills the other day, and I was getting frustrated because this one website kept logging me out. Well, he goes out and buys those confetti poppers, then, when I finally got the bills finished, he just started popping them over me and congratulating me. I had been so annoyed for hours, and he managed to make me relax and laugh again within seconds.”

Kathryn laughed. “I used to say that after Phil was born, his mould was broken.”

“He  _ is  _ one of a kind,” Dan agreed. He was suddenly even more excited to get back to the flat. Excited to see Phil’s face. Excited to be close to him again.

He remembered feeling this same way at eighteen years old, and being told that feeling would one day fade away.

He was glad it never did.

“And you’re treating him well?” Kathryn asked.

“Oh, yes!” Dan answered quickly. “I mean, I hope so. I try to anyway.”

“I’m only joking, Child. I’ve already told you that I know how happy you make Phil. I can tell by the way he looks at you. You two have been newlyweds since the day you met.”

Dan couldn’t deny that, not that he’d even try.

 

They finally reached the flat and headed into the elevator. Kathryn pressed the button for their floor, then moved to the back of the elevator.

“Daniel?”

“Yes?”

“If you and Phil did ever decide to have a child that was biologically yours, Nigel and I would be honored to have a grandchild that was part you.” She turned to him, making sure he was looking right at her. “You are  _ not  _ messed up. You are who you are for a reason, and you’ve helped millions of people just by being you. Don’t you ever forget that.”

There were definitely tears in Dan’s eyes now. He moved forward, closing his eyes as he wrapped her up in a hug. “Thank you,” he said, his voice a bit shaky.

“I love you, Child,” she said, squeezing him tight, just like she did all of her kids.

“Love you too.”

Dan let go of Kathryn as the elevator doors opened. He wiped at his eyes as they walked to the door.

“Hey!” Phil greeted when they walked into the flat. He was sitting in the lounge, looking through a magazine.

“Hey, sleepyhead,” Dan replied, shrugging off his coat.

“I’m going to take these upstairs and set them out,” Kathryn said, lifting up the bag of pastries. “I had a wonderful time, Daniel.”

Dan smiled. “Me too. We’ll be right up.”

Phil got up off the couch and walked over to Dan. “Good morning,” he said, giving Dan a peck on the lips. As he went to take a step back, Dan pulled him closer, wrapping his hands around Phil’s waist. 

“Good morning,” Dan replied. He laid his head on Phil’s shoulder as Phil’s hands found their way around to his back. Dan loved Phil’s hugs, especially when he was cold and Phil was warm. “Missed you.”

Phil huffed out a little laugh. “Missed you too. I woke up and half the house was gone.”

“I went with your mum to get breakfast.” Dan left a kiss on Phil’s neck before he pulled away from him. 

“How was it?” Phil asked. “What’d you two talk about?”

“Now, Philip, that’s for us to know and you to never find out.” Dan walked around Phil and began to head upstairs.

“Hey, you’re supposed to tell me things when it’s my birthday,” he said with a pout.

Dan turned back to Phil on the second to last step. “Your birthday was yesterday, Mister. Today, I tell you nothing.” He held out his hand for Phil to take. “Breakfast?”

Phil rolled his eyes, but he smiled as he dropped his hand into Dan’s with a sigh. “Breakfast.”

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed! I just felt the need for a little Dan and Kath talk time.
> 
> tumblr: softgolftechniques


End file.
